In cab-over-engine trucks, the radiator is typically (and usually necessarily) mounted to the frame just to the rear of the front bumper. When it comes to adjusting the position of the radiator within the frame, this adjustment is awkward, since the bumper obscures the frontal access to the radiator lower mounting assembly.
The truck cab is shaped to provide a tunnel which enables the cab to be swung forward over the engine; this tunnel comprises an open bottom, two side walls and a top wall. The radiator must therefore fit on the truck frame in such a way that there is adequate clearance between it and the sides and top of the cab tunnel, both when the cab is in its normal position and when it is tilted forward. Radiator adjustment in roll is required in order to center the radiator within the cab tunnel and so keep the radiator from rubbing on the cab tunnel, particularly when the cab is in its normal position. The normal clearance is about 27.5.+-.3 mm.
Heretofore, the roll adjustment has been achieved by placing a shim or shims between a lower rubber mount and the radiator's bottom tank. In order to install or remove such shims one had first to remove the bumper, and this removal typically involved taking out eight bolts. Only when the bumper has been removed could one loosen the locking nut holding the lower radiator mount to the frame, and then, by using a pry bar, raise the radiator off the mounts to enable insertion of the shims. After that, the radiator had to be lowered and checked for clearance. If the clearance was not sufficient at any point or was too large, then the process of raising the radiator and installing or removing shims was repeated.
An object of the present invention is to provide a lower mount structure for a tilt-cab truck radiator which enables adjustment without having to remove the bumper and without having to use a pry bar or having to insert or remove shims.
Another object is to provide an improved radiator lower mount enabling rapid and accurate adjustment and retention of any adjustment made.